my first shot at recording stuff in front of my computer was with n-track. nice community developed app that had plenty for me to work with.

I just got two Aardvark Q10's and they came with Cakewalk pro9 which I upgraded to Sonar 2.2XL. So far so good.

You could probably spend $750 on a single Q10, slap it in your computer and run Pro9 and be happy.

If that is too much, I liked n-track a bunch and it is practically free.

I am a newbie too, so take my advise with a grain of salt.

jim

I am also very new to this, so take this advice with a grain of salt.

I recently purchased a [="http://www.motu.com/english/motuaudio/1224/index.html"]MOTU 1224[/]="http://www.motu.com…"]MOTU 1224[/] via Ebay for cheap- 1/3 retail. Of course, just be careful who you buy from. They also have the highly recommended Q10 for cheap.

I had been using Cool Edit Pro 2.0 with my SB Live before I got the new card, but I have been forced to switch to Cakewalk SONAR XL 2.2 in order to accomodate the new card. So far, (IMHO) the SONAR program is much superior to Cool Edit, but it is also much harder to intuitively use.

So, if you just need something to toy around with, Cool Edit is very easy to use and works just fine. Find a decent sound card. [[url=http://="http://www.dawbox.c…"]Dawbox Sound Cards[/]="http://www.dawbox.c…"]Dawbox Sound Cards[/] gives a nice summary of some mid-to-high end sound cards and MSRP. And look on eBay for some decent prices.

Feel free to email me and we can discuss further.

A

It's so hard to recommend a single program for one person as each one has it's perks, pro's and cons.

Most of us here are either hard core Steinberg fans or Pro Tool users.(Alsihad!! :p )

Anyways, I love Cubase SX as it's features are very flexible and it's editing capabilities are amazing! VST support, ASIO implementation and MIDI features are pretty nice!

Sonar has definitely brought a new era to the Cakewalk community and have to say hats off to them for that! If they hadn't gone the Sonar route don't know if they would make it or not!

As I said, it's hard to recommend one program over the other through personal experiences.

The best thing to do is see if there is a demo you can try before using it as this way you won't be shelling out cash for a program you find to be not your cup o joe.

Peace
Opus

Aaron,

Don't know if you are interested, but the Sonar2 Power book helped me get jumpstarted with Sonar. While the program is huge and has many options and ways to do things, the Sonar Power book provides a nice roadmap and some simple ways to tackle the most common tasks.

FYI

Jim

Opus,

If you read my posts you know that I really only know Sonar a little so far and the other programs not much at all.

What do the different companies look like from a technical support view?

n-Track: I would imagine n-track has little formal support, but a large enthusiastic user base willing to help (ala Linux.)

Sonar: Thus far I have been less than blown away by their response times, interest in helping, or their answers when they do get back to me.

What about the other companies you mention?

(I might be a bit spoiled because the people at Aardvark have set the bar incredibly high with their online support for my Q10's)

Jim, that's great advice, thanks.

Opus, I guess I will check out Cubase SX as well. Is ProTools on ly available as hardware-software combos or is there a separate software program?

A

Thanx all for your comments. Looks like I will be downloading some demos this weekend. I'm still in search of a sound card. I was hoping for a USB solution so I was looking at the M-Audio Duo... mostly because it's cheap. MOTU is a bit out of my price range at the moment. I have not looked at Aardvark.

I've got some PC upgrades planned so I can't exactly splurge. My POD supposedly is able to record via USB but I have not tried it yet.

if you're looking for a mid-range audio card that is less than a MOTU, check out the Echo Gina 24. Around $350 online and it works fairly well with windows 2000/XP. http://

i had an m-audio card (Quattro) and i was not happy with the drivers and how it performed with Sonar 2. go for an Echo product if you can.

Support....damn good question! A very important one as well!!

Understand that Steinberg has a lot of users in their data base and unfortunately it does take a little bit of time to actually get through to them but once you do there is a very friendly and very knowledgeable staff ready to assist you!

I know most of them personally and can attest to this!

Aardvark does indeed have some great support. Un the beginning it was a bit rough for them as they only had one main person doing most of the support so it was a bit hectic. This was a few years back so I'm sure by now it's all well!

As far as USB based devices....they're good but there are certain disadvantages to going USB. Lack of bandwidth and limited amount of processing due to the USB(Ultra Shitty Bus) being a bit bogged down.

the USB bus is actually pretty damn CPU intensive so it taxes the system a bit more than you would want it to.

I would recommend the PCI route if I were you and I will second the Echo card recommendation as well.

Opus

Opus: Echo Mia then? I've seen them going for about $130 on ebay. I dont really need a lot of I/O connections. Just all out quality and stability.

yeah, ECHO cards are nice. Good drivers not too bad of a sound quality either!

Peace

Opus

In an earlier post I mentioned Sonar support in a less than glowing light. I have had about 3 occasions since that post to interact with them and I would have to say that they have been very impressive.

It is weird that I do not really know one guy there that I always email to, but whoever gets back to me usually does so within about 4 hours (during business hours)

Their replies are complete and useful.

Jim